Let’s Keep This Puppy Rolling Along
September 21, 2007 · Print This Article
People go see a comedy show and go to work the next day raving about the hilarious headliner they saw the night before, and you know, that second guy wasn’t bad either, but what about the emcee? Brian talks about the “forgotten comic”, and why it may be the most important job in stand up.
Listener topics include, being influenced by other comics, why club owners like Scotty Goff are so rare, a “Last Comic Hacking” update, and some political comedy from the other side of the aisle. I don’t want to go on a rant here babe.
Email: brianmcomedy@gmail.com and give us a call on 206-203-4692
good job ben. i just finished with my fifth open mike and i have to tell you that performing is the bigest rush you can get aside from sky diving. Oh, and one thing, dont feel bad if you bomb it’s ok. if you do well the first time youll probably bomb the third time youll do great, or vice vers. So let me be the second to wish you good luck.
I can’t believe my uncanny ability to pick the loser in Last Comic Standing. I guess I’m happy that Jon Reep won. His act isn’t particularly great, but at least it’s his. Now let’s hope this abomination doesn’t get renewed for another season.
I have heard people do a joke I wrote a couple of times. The most painful was when I saw Dave Landau do a joke on Last Comic Standing about people comparing Bush to Hitler. It made me want to slit my wrists because it was literaly my only political joke and I could never use.
On a side note, to show how needy I am, I spent the next hour looking for bloggers’ reactions to it.
Brian. Thank you for believing Lavell was going to win. I guess there are more hicks with television than african americans in the US.
For those who are teenagers, and in the hawaii area, (and I think I may be the only one in this demographic) but I am going to be performing (for the first time) at an open mic of sorts, on October 7, at the grounds of the state capital.
And just because I know it makes your heart go fuzzy, I wanted to let you know you inspired me to screw up my life and attempt to become a comedian.
Anyways, I wanted to warn you Brian, I may flood the joke of the week voicemail, working out material. I have a bunch of stuff that I think is funny, but I don’t know how it actually is.
Thanks for the DMV story. I actually just recently started listening to the Not Iowa podcast, and went back 10 episodes or so. Umm so yeah. I have a speech tournament tomorrow, so I have to go to sleep. its 2 in the morning hawaii time, and I am supposed to get up at 6. I had to listen to the podcast first though. Boy do I have my priorites in order.
Mike (not really)
P.S. for those who have way too much time on their hands or are procrastinating. I have a blog now, its in the website link.
Hi folks,
Mike, good luck on that open mic night. Brian, I loved hearing your thoughts on Mac’s question from last week regarding when you know if your joke is funny and ready to perform.
A good rule of thumb I’ve always used is something I read from Bob Hope. His advice to joke writers was, “If you didn’t laugh when you wrote it, why should I laugh when I hear it?”
I try to keep that in mind because often I’ll write a joke that I think the audience will respond to, but the joke won’t thrill me or make me laugh or even smile. And then, surprise, surprise, I get a weak reaction. (As an aside, I had the weirdest audience reaction the other night. Not only did the audience not laugh at this new joke, I don’t think anybody knew it was a joke. I think they thought it was the premise to a joke…)
Conversely, I think we’ve all seen comics who really sell their material–especially weak material–and it’ll get a solid reaction because the comic’s passionate about the bit. And I think the Dennis Miller material you shared with us this week was an example of that. As a fan of Dennis Miller, I’d say that wasn’t his funniest bit he’s ever done, but because he’s passionate about what he’s saying it’s truly compelling, and adds another dimension to his work.
And just following on the discussion of early and late shows (and how no one can ever be funny during the day), I’m interested to hear your experiences, Brian, and BTB fans’ experience, on performing in different types of rooms. For instance, a joke I’ll do in a bar will get a different reaction than when I’m performing in a community hall, or on the odd time I’ve been able to do a soft-seater. In short, what’s your favourite type of room to play?
Great show as always!
- Don
I actually was hoping Lavell was going to win. Certainly his humor is not groundbreaking, and when he did the hockey joke I knew I had heard it before (although I didn’t remember that it was from quite so obvious a place), but there was one reason that I could not root for Jon Reep, I feel like for me to want someone to win a comedy competition they have to make me laugh at least once. Not once in the whole season that I watched Jon Reep did I crack a smile when he told a joke, not a smile, not a chuckle, nothing.
Here’s would have been my list of comics that I would have wanted to win from favorite to least:
Matt Kirshen
Gina Yashere
Amy Schumer
Gerry Dee
Doug Benson
Lavell Crawford
Debra Digiovanni
Ralph Harris
Dante
Jon Reep
Now some of them like Gina Yashere I didn’t get to hear enough of to really say that they were above the others, but I still laugh when I think about her joke about the woman who got the face transplant. Once you get below Gerry Dee on that list, there’s not a single joke that stands out in my memory.
I did my first emcee spot in July. I think the best way to describe it is falling on a grenade. Yeah. It was hell. Hard because I had to work really really hard for every laugh. BUT, it was totally huge to be successful. To have the crowd rolling by the end of my 10 was great - and I really earned it. It was an uphill battle all the way - but worth it.
I love that feeling.
I did a few things based on tips I got from my comic friends:
* I asked the headliner and feature (who are good friends) their thoughts on one of my bits. I only asked because it’s not totally clean (i.e. ’shit’)
* I emailed the headliner and feature before the show weekend and introduced myself. Said I was excited to be the host and asked for their bios in advance, if they had time.
* And after the show, some find it kiss-assy - I sent thank you notes to the feature, headliner and the club.
In return I got booked again. Also, I got some great feedback from the headliner and feature, and really just had a great time.
I really enjoyed being an emcee. I’ve seen some just horrible emcees… and I knew what I didn’t want to do when I went up. But as with anything new, I was a bit nervous about it. [heh]
So I’ve now been thinking - how about just being a great emcee? Could I get to be known as that and make decent money and have a decent amount of bookings just being a great emcee?
Good tips amelia! Im in the same boat as I’ve been emceeing since july as well. I dunno about JUST being a good emcee though. I think it would get old after awhile and wouldnt be much of a challenge after awhile. Also I am under the impression that clubs dont really personally care who emcees just as long as the job gets done and they do a decent job. I dont know that any club would pay more for one emcee if another will get the job done for a lesser price. Also younger comics coming up may get annoyed after awhile that you arent moving on to feature b/c everyone is fighting for emcee spots. Especially if there is only 1 club in your city like there is here in Omaha. Maybe thats just how it is here. I’d love to hear if the situation is different in other citys, especially cities with multiple clubs.
I’m pretty happy with the way LCS turned out. Frankly, my biggest laughs from actual prepared material were from John Reep’s stuff. As for off-the-cuff, shoot-from-the-hip stuff, Lavell probably was the best. (Think back to the heckling challenge…)
I look at Brandon’s list, and for me, I’d have to re-arrange it thusly:
John Reep
Matt Kirshen
Amy Schumer
Lavell Crawford
Ralph Harris
Gerry Dee
Dante
Gina Yashere
Debra Digiovanni
Doug Benson
Putting John at the top of the list has nothing to do with “redneckery”. It has to do with what sometimes gets forgotten: What’s funny to you depends a great deal on your past experience and history.
I’ll explain. Brian, who has studied comedy for years and has lived in New York, is more likely to like a comic like Jerry Seinfeld than I am. Frankly, I don’t think I’ve ever even chuckled at a Seinfeld bit. On the other hand, being from the south, I tend to really like the Blue Collar guys. Jeff Foxworthy is getting a bit old, but Bill Engvall and Ron White just kill me. Brian, I kinda get a vibe that he’s not a fan of the Blue Collar guys. Larry the Cable Guy, not a fan, because I’ve never been a fan of gross comedy.
I’ll even admit to laughing harder at Carrot Top’s bit on LCS harder than I laughed at any of the contestants at any point in the series.
My point is that comedy, from a fan’s standpoint, is — well, it’s personal. It has to speak to you, relate to your experiences in life. I can honestly understand why Brandon didn’t like John Reep. He wasn’t speaking to Brandon’s experience.
So don’t think that John Reep winning LCS had anything to do with a black vs. white race thing. I think John just spoke to more people’s experience. Maybe not yours, but to somebody’s.
Just my thoughts.
Well, I haven’t watch an episode of Last Comic Standing now for two seasons, because the last time I watched it, I was disgusted with the entire process. I have to echo Brian on this one and hope this hideous monster is killed off, never to return.
On another note, I’ve convinced a local pub adjacent to the University where I teach to start holding open mic nights on Tuesdays. I told them I teach a comedy class, and they were intrigued. I performed at the first open mic, and served as emcee for anyone willing to get up (three people performed) and it was fairly well received. Our second one is tomorrow night. We’ll see how that goes. When I stop being so lazy (and listening to the podcast when I’m nowhere near a phone), I’ll try to remember to call in and leave a joke on the hotline.
Good show Brian. Liked the dicussion about emcees. My brother in law did some emcee work awhile back at a comedy club up in Charlotte, NC. He really enjoyed doing it, but I think he realized that he wasn’t going to get much further than that a gave it up.
I agree with you 100% jsaund. Not on the Seinfeld thing, but definitely about being able to relate to material. As you can see by our informal poll, it seems to be the most popular style of comedy and Reep appealed to more people. Not the way I would have gone as a whole, but I’m glad he beat out Lavelle.
Congrats GN on the open mic. I’d love to hear more about it and some details on how the new crop of comedy students are coming along.
Did anyone catch the new DL Hughgly HBO special? I had mixed feelings on it, but I wanted to chat about it on Thursday so I’d love a review if any of you caught it. Thanks in advance.
Didn’t catch the DL Hughly special, I don’t have HBO. But what is your opinion on people such as Jeff Dunham? Because he had a new special come out on Sunday, and I am going to be watching it soon.
Basically, what I am asking is what are your thoughts on ventriloquist comedy? Is it considered a different class of comedy from standup, more similar to a one man show?
Personally, I enjoy Jeff Dunham, but I haven’t heard of any other ventriloquists, so I can’t say much about it.
Mike (NR)
jsaund,
I think you make a great point about people’s experience when it comes to comedy. Actually though, I too am no fan of Seinfeld. I can remember everyone talking about how much they loved his TV show and thinking, “are we talking about the same thing?”.
Were there any jokes that stood out in particular from Reep? I’d be curious to hear what you thought his best moments were. I think that I found him funnier when they were just getting his reaction to things on the show but his stand up just did not appeal to me.
“Are we talking about the same thing?” Pretty much exactly the reaction I have every time someone talks about what a hilarious show Seinfeld was.
Brian, I just couldn’t think of anyone less Blue-Collar off the cuff. It’s kind of comforting that a comedy pro doesn’t worship at the altar of the Almighty Seinfeld.
Honestly, Brandon, I listen to so much comedy on Sirius, that I have a really hard time remembering specific bits. Reep’s bit about the panther noise played at the football games, and how you don’t hear the eagles or dolphins do the same thing was pretty funny.
Other than that, nothing was really memorable. But there was nothing memorable at all from any of the other comics for me. I think John has the potential to be much better than he is. He needs to spend some time working on his material. But really, the longest set he did was, what, five minutes? How can you judge a comic on five minutes?
He was the best of a completely mediocre bunch to me. Yes, something about his comedy spoke to my experience, and maybe it was simply because he was from “my neck of the woods”. It ain’t that far from Atlanta to Hickory.
By the way, since next month is all-request month, and I’ve mentioned the Blue-Collar stuff a couple of times, I’ll throw in a couple of votes. Your choice, Brian — Either anything from Ron White (especially the bit about getting thrown out of a bar in New York), or Bill Engvall’s bit about riding with the Air Force Thunderbirds. I quite literally almost drove off a bridge by accident because I was laughing so hard at Engvall’s Thunderbirds bit.
Great question Mike NR. For fear that I’ll get thrown out of the comedian’s union, I have to admit that when ventriloquism is done well I’m a huge fan. I traveled with Dunham for a few weeks several years ago as his opening act and loved his set every time I saw it. Now please don’t tell anyone.
Hey B-Mo, love the new look to the site, and I also think this week’s show was excellent. Got a couple of things:
-A few weeks ago, I did a show featuring for a comic here in Des Moines at a show I set up and worked really hard to get organized. I was telling my parents all about the show, and they were excited for me, so they came down and actually saw me do stand-up for the first time. I had a pretty good set, left some stuff out I felt was too racy for my mom and dad to stomach. After the show, I went over to say hi to them and thank them for coming, only to find out that they hated it. They thought I was vulgar, offensive, and unfunny. They were going there hoping that I would sound more like Seinfeld, and I’m not exactly like that. So that was disappointing (my mom said she doesn’t care if she never sees me do a show or tell a joke again).
-I am now running my own open mic, so that’s exciting. I’m really proud of it, posters are being made, and I am looking forward to it flourish. The venue is pumped for the show, other comics are geared up for it as well. That’s why this past podcast spoke to me really well, as I’m finally going to be doing a considerable amount of emceee work.
Des Moines now has 3 regular open mics (none of which are run by the local comedy club here; they’re lame as hell to local comics).
I can’t wait for the upcoming podcast.
Thanks for sharing your story Joel. Wow! That is the worst “coming out” to your parents that I’ve ever heard. That’s pretty much everyone’s fear but no one’s reality. Thanks for sharing, and if your family kicks you out because of your way of life, you’re always welcome here.
And by “here” I mean the website. No you can’t sleep on my couch.
I know this is old news, but didn’t want to post something to never have it read. Anyway, I thought the Flavor Flav roast was funny as hell. I have no idea why they roasted him, or how any of the people involved knew him (with a few exceptions). Greg Giraldo was really funny, Patton Oswalt wasn’t bad, even Ice T and Snoop were pretty funny. Pretty easy targets though, a California Raisin crackhead and the whores that love him. I don’t know what blackmail Comedy Central has on Kimmel, but he seemed out of place to me. The guy seems to big for that show, I could be wrong.
I gotta make this quick. did anybody see that jeff dunham. i gotta say i dont know what to think. on one hand hes using puppets which is one of the tell tale signs of hackiness. and on the other hand i luaghed so hard i almost chocked. what do you guys think?
I don’t think that puppets are hacky in an of themselves. The problem is that most puppet acts do the same shtick. Dunham definitely doesn’t so it’s ok to like him.
Okay, I am about half way done with his special (my parents came home while I was watching it) and I have to say, I’m definitly loving the special. I thought his standup in the beginning was a little weak, but his follow up jokes (are they called tags?) with the manequins was pretty good.
Brian, I am insanely jealous that you had the opportunity to work with Jeff Dunham, and of him as well, because he got to work with you. Not that I am sucking up in anyway.
I think I am going to make pretty much everyone on the board feel kind of old, but I have honestly never seen Seinfeld before this summer (I saw it on a trip in China). I have to say, I wasn’t very impressed. Parts were funny, yes, but nothing really stands out about them.
To Joel: I’m really sorry to hear that. But if it makes you feel better, I like your set.
To Brian: I don’t remember (and am too lazy to listen to the old episodes) but have you performed in front of your parents?
On Blue Collar Comedy: I really like Ron White, I tolerate Bill Engvall, I sometimes like Jeff Foxworthy (although his roast was awesome) and I don’t have an opinion on Larry the Cable Guy ( I haven’t listened to him recently).
Now I gotta go again, I have to go do stuff for my parents…
and yes, I live at home with my parents still.
Mike (NR)
Hey guys (and especially you B-mo), how psyched is everyone for the Dave Attell’s HBO special in december? I’ve listened to the bit on Insomiac about eating a bald eagle so many fucking times!
This site’s design changes more often than Britney Spears is photographed actually *wearing* panties…
Cool, dave attel’s getting a special. awesome, maybe he’ll realease a new album soon. Skanks for the memories is one of my all time favorite albums and anybody whos stuck in a car with me for more than an hour is forced to listen to it. you should have seen my grandmothers face when she first heard it. it was a real bonding experiance.
Thanks for the awesome (and quick) answer to my questions, BMo! And thanks for the additional thoughts, Don. I’m still working out my first set. In addition to having a full-time job (no, I don’t just work Sunday mornings!), I also have a wife and four kids. Breaking out time to hit the open mic’s isn’t easy.
Or maybe I’m just putting things off because ADD and fear make for an awesome procrastination cocktail…
Oh, and on LCS: I’ve been watching via TiVo on about a three week delay, and I bailed out when I found out that Dee got dumped. He and Kirshen were my favorites. I thought Lavell was funny at first, but after awhile it looked like he really only had about fifteen total minutes of good material. And the whole Hickory thing…I’m not formally anti-blue-collar humor, but I’ve got a bias against comics who use a character and an accent as crutches. Thus Larry the CG annoys me even when I laugh at his stuff. Carrot top irks me, too, because he’s more a brand than a human being, which is also sort of the same thing as LtCG.
I doubt I’ll be watching LCS next time around. Through the magic of TiVo I have a steady stream of short, medium and long comedy sets that’ll keep me satisfied for a long time.